Tag Archives: small business strategy

What do you do? Do you make them keep the item? Do you give them their money back? Do you an “in-store credit?” How should it be handled? How do you handle it?

All the major stores offer money-back guarantees. And there’s good reason.

If you fail to give someone their money back, you haven’t just lost one customer; you’ve lost a bunch of them.

People don’t hesitate to talk about the bad service they received or the “rip-off” they got from a business. In fact, they’ll talk more about the one bad experience to more people than they will about all the good service and good deals they got from the business.

In many cases, if you cheerfully and unhesitatingly offer to give money back to a customer who is dissatisfied, they’ll end up spending that same amount of money, often more, with you again. And, they’ll tell others about what a good attitude you had and what a pleasure it is to do business with you.

Any time a selling situation exists, someone is being asked to take a risk. Either the buyer is taking the risk, or the seller is.

If you, as a business owner are willing to shoulder the entire amount of the risk, that is, offer a complete 100 percent money-back guarantee, you’ll make a significantly greater amount of sales.

Look at it this way:

If a potential buyer knows that if they purchase a certain item and they are unsatisfied with it in any way, that they can return it, more of those potential buyers will be willing to take a chance. On the other hand, if they knew they would be “stuck” with whatever it is that they purchased, there would be more hesitation, more resistance and more reluctance.

“But,” you say, “If I give a money-back guarantee, people will take advantage of me, and I’ll lose money.”

Yes, it’s true. Some people will take advantage of you, and you will lose some money… on those people. (Maybe!).

As far as the “(Maybe)” part, remember that how you give the money back has a lot to do with your attitude.

And remember, that some, in fact the majority of those people will turn around and spend that money with you again… and will tell their friends.

But, most people are honest. And most won’t try to rip you off. In fact, more people will be inclined to buy from you because of the guarantee than would buy from you if there were no guarantee.

Sure, you’ll get a few returns. But the additional purchases you make will more than offset any dollars you lose because of the returns.

Joint Ventures, or teaming up with another business can be one of the most profitable things you can do. And they turn out to be win-win-win situations.

Here’s how it might work:

A financial planner can arrange with an insurance agent to provide a complimentary 20-minute consultation with the agent’s clients.

The agent provides the list of names and writes a letter (paid for by the financial planner) to his or her clients making the complimentary offer as a “thank you” for doing business with the agent. The client gets the feeling that the agent cares about them (customer win), and gets a free 20-minute consultation (customer win).

They may even contract with the financial planner to do some additional work for them (financial planner win). The insurance agent gets to contact his clients on a non-threatening, here’s-another-service-I-provide-for-you basis (agent win).

The financial planner gets to show off his skills and expertise to someone they’ve never met (and may never have had the opportunity to meet), with the potential of gaining a new client (financial planner win).

In this situation, everyone wins… the insurance agent, the financial planner and the client. And the same thing can happen in any business.

Look around for businesses that provide complimentary, but non-competing services. See if you can arrange similar joint ventures with them. You can set up an arrangement where you get a percentage of the profits of any sales made to your clients. Or, you may choose to approach it as just another service you can provide your clients, and build more goodwill with them.

Ask nearly anyone in business, from insurance to computers, cars to clothes, what their customers want, and they’ll usually respond with something that has to do with low price.

But when you look around at what people spend their money on… what they drive, what they wear, where they live, where they dine out… you quickly see that that argument goes right out the window.

Yet, in nearly every business, if you exhibit hesitation at buying, the salesperson will almost always try lowering the price as a first resort.

The best way to find out what your customers or prospects want is to ask them. That’s it. Simply ask them. The answers might just surprise you.

People, as a rule, buy on emotion. Then they back up that purchase decision, or justify it by using logic or reason. Here’s what I mean:

An acquaintance of mine was in the market for a new car. He was married and had two small children. It was the second marriage for both he and his wife, they had just moved into a new home and finances were tight.

One Saturday, he found himself at a local auto dealership. The salesperson, after asking my friend about his situation, assessed his needs and determined that he needed a small, economy model, four-door sedan.

This would fit his small family comfortably, was economically priced, got good gas mileage and was a nice looking car.

But my friend saw the sleek sports model on the next row and asked the salesman to show it to him. Well, he took the car for a drive, quickly fell in love with it and ended up buying it.

When he arrived home with his new purchase, his wife became very upset. My friend explained that the salesman had indeed, shown him another model. But, that even though the sports car cost more, it held its value longer, and would be worth more as a trade-in when they were ready to sell it.

He also explained how there was a small “jump-seat” in the back where the kids could ride, and that by the time they were big enough to not be able to fit in the back anymore, he should be doing better at his job and they could afford a larger car.

What it really came down to, was that my friend had always wanted a sports car growing up, and throughout his first marriage. But as a teenager, he didn’t have the money, and his first wife insisted they couldn’t afford it.

Well, on this particular Saturday, he found himself alone, went to the dealership by himself and bought the car of his dreams. He satisfied a suppressed desire, bought based on emotion, and justified his purchase through the use of logic and reason

The salesperson initially did the right thing by asking about my friend’s needs, and trying to fit him into the logical car for him and his family.

But that wasn’t what my friend wanted. When the salesperson found out what he wanted, he changed his presentation to help him satisfy those wants.

The sports car obviously had a higher sales price, and the salesperson didn’t have to discount the vehicle, because he could see that the buyer wanted that vehicle. In fact, his mouth was probably watering just at the sight of it.

If the salesperson had been trying to sell to his customer’s needs… the four-door economy sedan… he most likely would have had to discount the vehicle to make it more attractive.

The end result? The customer got what he wanted and the salesman made a greater commission.

Now, what about you in your business? Do you sell your prospects and customers what they need? Or do you take the time to find out what they want, and sell them that?

There are several ways you can determine the wants of your prospects and customers. Surveys and questionnaires, whether by phone or mail are some of the easiest and most effective ways.

You can follow-up after a purchase to find out how they like the product or service they just bought, see if they have any questions about how to use it, and ask about other products they may be interested in.

You can ask them when they come into the store or your place of business.

You can have them fill out information cards and at the same time, register for a competition. The ways you can get information from your customers are only limited by your imagination. Think about your business, and the various ways you can get this information from your customers and prospects.

By applying this concept of selling to their wants and not their needs, you’ll not only make more sales, but the transaction value of the sale will be higher. And, your customers will return to make more purchases and bring their friends with them, because you’ve treated them the way they want to be treated and not the way you think they should be treated.

Now, there are a couple of reasons why people won’t spend their money with you.

No Want – We’ve already discussed that people will buy what they want before they’ll buy what they need.

No Trust – You haven’t established the level of credibility, trust and believability they need to make a purchasing decision.

No Value – You haven’t created enough value “perceived value” in their minds to equal or exceed the value of the money they will have to give in exchange for the item. Remember, it’s not what’s “real.” What is perceived in the customer’s mind is reality to them.

No Ability – Some people genuinely don’t have the financial ability to pay for the item.

Once you’ve established a level of trust and believability, and found out if they can afford what you offer, you’ll make more and bigger sales by selling to the wants than to the needs.

Take the time now to survey your customers. Find out why they purchased a particular item from you in the first place, why they chose your business over your competitors, and what additional products or services they may be interested in. Then work on finding out how to satisfy those wants. It’s no longer, “Find a need and fill it.” You’ll be much farther if you “Find a want and satisfy it.”

You can learn a lot from your competition. Sometimes they can be your best source of what to do or what not to do. You should set up a system to periodically research your competition to see what they’re up to. Some of the things you should consider are:

Who they are

How big they are

What major and secondary product lines they carry

What their advertising strategy is

Where they advertise

How big the ads are

How often they run

Where they run them

Who their customers are

Who their target market is

How they contact them

How they answer the phone

How many salespeople they have

Who their salespeople call on

How often they call on them

And anything else you can find out about them.

Once you begin to develop files on your competition, and begin to understand who they are and how they operate, you can use that information to gain a tremendous advantage over them.

Just like a General in the Armed Forces, once you know the enemy, understand them, and know where their weaknesses are, you can determine what you need to do to exploit those weaknesses and gain the advantage.

On the other hand, if you don’t know their operation, how they do business, and where it comes from, you are operating at a tremendous disadvantage.

Just because you have competition, doesn’t mean you have to be enemies. In fact, your competition can be one of your greatest allies, or sources of additional, untapped income.

One way to capitalise on your competition is to form strategic alliances with them.

If you don’t have a particular product that your customer or prospect is looking for, you may be able to get it from your competition – and still keep that person as a customer.

By letting your customer see that you’re more interested in helping him or her solve their wants and needs, even if it means you don’t get the business… even if it’s from one of your competitors, your customer will appreciate your thoughts and efforts, and reward you by continuing to do business with you, and referring others to do business with you.

If you can’t obtain the product or service from your competitor yourself, perhaps you can refer your prospect or customer to your competitor so they can get the product or service themselves.

In either case, you’ve performed a valuable service for your customer and they’ll appreciate you looking out for them and trying to help them solve their problems, rather that just sending them away to solve them on their own. This goes a long way towards creating customer loyalty.

Your competition can be a great ally for you, and can provide you with very valuable market and marketing research. Take the time to check them out. Find out what they’re doing, and how they operate.

If they continue to run the same ad in the same place over and over, it’s probably working for them. Look closely at that ad. See what you can do to improve it, offer a better value or a better reason for your customers to buy from you.

You’ve heard them. They’re everywhere on the radio and television. In fact, you probably catch yourself singing or humming at least a couple of different jungles or tunes throughout the course of your day.

Or, you may find yourself quoting some catchy slogan or motto you’ve heard or read.

The question you may ask is, if they’re so catchy, and I find myself singing, humming or quoting them, aren’t they working?

Aren’t they doing their job?

And the answer, of course, is, “Yes, they are working,” and, “Yes, they are doing their job.”

So, if jingles, slogans, and tunes are working and doing their job, why not use them? It all depends what you’re trying to accomplish with your advertising and marketing dollars.

If you want new customers… more customers… people who can and will come to your place of business, or pick up the phone and call you willing to give you their money, then these tunes, jingles and slogans may not be the best use of your money.

On the other hand, if you want people to remember you, to have the name of your business dancing around in their heads, but really don’t care about getting them into your place of business, then it’s probably okay to use them.

Just ask yourself: When was the last time you found yourself driving along singing a jungle or tune and decided that you’d head on over to the place of business that that tune belonged to, with the intent of buying something?

Probably never, right?

Jingles and slogans do work. There’s no question about it. For the specific job they’re intended, they do work.

But, as a business owner, you have to make the decision if you want to spend your money to accomplish that job. Or, if you would rather spend your money in a more productive, results-producing, profit-generating way.

Your ads, letters and promotional campaigns must be treated like commissioned employees. There has to be accountability if you want results, and want them cost-effectively.

You probably wouldn’t allow your best salesperson to call on your prospects or customers and sing a jingle, recite your slogan or motto, mention the name of your company and your phone number and then leave, would you?

Of course not.

Sounds silly, doesn’t it?

Yet day in and day out, you’ll see and hear that type of marketing from hundreds of businesses in the newspaper, in magazines, on radio and TV.

Remember, the ads you run and the letters you send out are nothing more than paper or electronic sales people.

What you expect from your human salespeople, you should also expect from your paper and electronic salespeople.

Your ads and letters should provide information about your products and services, make an enticing offer and give compelling reasons why the recipient should take action now. And remember our discussions about accountability and testing. Each ad should be able to be measured as to its effectiveness.

If they don’t pull like you think they should, then test another approach, and exchange the jingles and slogans for good solid reasons for your prospects to buy.

It seems like everyone is an “expert” nowadays. Advice is so freely found and offered, even if you have no intention of seeking it or asking for it.

Family, friends, co-workers, associates, neighbors… nearly every person you come in contact with has something to say, or some advice to offer. And, for the most part, it’s well-intentioned.

You can even get on the internet and type in a key word and download tons of information on nearly any subject you desire.

Some of it comes from credible sources, and other information comes from self-proclaimed “gurus” or “experts.”

It will pay you big dividends to carefully consider the source of any and all information or help you receive or seek out on your own.

Check out credentials and credibility. Ask for references and testimonials from others they have helped in the same line of work you’re in!

Too often, testimonials are used that relate to work done in a field or project that bears absolutely no resemblance to what you’re involved in.

While “Principles” are constant, the “Specifics” can and will change. Here’s what I mean:

A Principle is timeless. It never changes. For example, in advertising, a Principle would be that you will get more readership from an ad using a headline.

A Specific, on the other hand, is the application of a Principle to a unique situation.

In our advertising example, how the headline is used may vary from one type of business to another.

An auto body repair shop, for instance, may run a headline that relates to their type of business.

And a printing company, while still using a headline, will want to tailor their headline to the needs of their printing customers and prospects.

The point is, make sure that the advice you get, whether it’s volunteered or sought out, comes from a credible and reliable source, and make sure the source has some specific knowledge of your business.

Or, at least they can relate the Specifics of your business to the tried, tested and timeless Principles that apply to all businesses.

One of the most common mistakes business owners make with their marketing, is to try something, find out it works, then stop doing it and try something else.

A better approach would be to find something that works, tweak a certain part of it, try it again, tweak it again, and keep doing it.

As long as something continues to work, don’t give it up. Just keep trying to improve it so it will work better.

There are several reasons why people change their marketing even though it’s working for them:

They don’t test their ads or promotions, and they don’t monitor the results. So, they don’t know what’s working, how well what they’re doing is working, or even if it is working.

They get tired of doing the same old thing every time, and change their ads just for the sake of change.

They see or hear about something someone else is doing and want to see if it will work for them. Usually, very little thought goes into the decision.

When you take a close look at these reasons, you’ll notice that none of them make any sense. Yet business after business, day after day, makes one of these fatal marketing mistakes.

But, if a business owner were to implement two of the most important concepts… that of Testing and Monitoring, these mistakes could be avoided, and the result would unquestionably be more and increased profits.

One of the worst things you can do is discontinue running an ad, a mailing campaign or a promotion if it is getting results.

There are usually only three reasons you should consider changing or discontinuing a promotion:

If you’re testing a new ad, sales letter or promotion, and you want to see if you can improve its results, then certainly, you would want to change part of it and run another test. But, you would only change one item at a time. If an ad is an absolute bomb, then you may want to consider discontinuing it altogether.

If you’ve used a certain ad or campaign to market to your prospect list or customer base, you may not want to run the same promotion to those people again. Another promotion with a different emphasis may well be in order.

If the ad or promotion no longer pulls a satisfactory response, then for sure, you’d want to make some changes. This why the Testing process is never complete.

The only reason you would ever want to change any ad, campaign or promotion is to see if you can make it perform better. Any other reason shouldn’t even be considered.